Kalesa's food are delish. But... The customer services is not that so good as of my experience today. I called to place an order for pick up and right when someone picked up the phone she told me if I can hold, and I said yes of course. So then I hold but the phone line on their end was still on and I could hear them like (chit-chatting, and singing). I was on hold for almost 8 mins but I could hear their other phone ringing and someone would answer and take other's order but I'm still there holding?!! Why?!! So I hung up and tried to call them back again and their phone was busy. I tried again and a guy picked up. I told him what happened and I expected him to say something like a simple "sorry about what happened" but NOPE he didn't say nothing, he just took my order and that's it. SMH I don't normally leave a feedback but this one got me! read more

Called for reservation within the same day of going here. Had family dinner, we got chicharon bulaklak, grilled squid, bulalo, sinigang na bangus and some more. I love their chicharon bulaklak it was so cripsy and crunchy! Their serving size was pretty good for the price and taste. The servers we very nice and attentive to us. We ate here around 5:30 and there were plenty of parking spaces. read more

Kalesa - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

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We had a huge party for our 1 year old grandson and ordered all of our main dishes from here. I was worried that with our big orders, some of the foods may not be cooked the way it is served in the restaurant. But they did not disappoint, everything was good and delivered on time. We had a lot of guests asking who catered our foods. The big hits were the sisig and the barbecue. We also ordered bistik (Filipino beef steak), Bicol express (pork cooked in coco cream & shrimps paste), lumpiang shanghai, miki bihon, spaghetti and chopsuey for our vegetarian guests. The trays were filled to the rim and of course we had leftovers for some of guests to take home because it's not a pinoy party without food to go! read more

If scores were based on flavor, 4 stars! Minus 1 star due to imposing 18% gratuity on our check for 5 guests - 2 adults + 3 children. We did not add any additional tip since it was already assumed that patrons will pay 18% before signing onto the bottom line. Do they actually split the gratuity among the servers? I truly hope so. We were one of the last tables and the 2 women on staff did not hide the fact that they were waiting on our table to leave. They watched us sign our check and pack our own leftovers. A bit nerve wracking. Maybe we will just order take out next time and skip all that mumbo jumbo of poor service. read more

My beloved Filipino Daughter-in-law wanted Filipino food to celebrate her passing probation with the City of SJ and for us to try out Filipino cuisine. Kalesa was recommended by my Yoga teacher and after checking Yelp reviews, we decided to go to Kalesa. We had reservations and we were seated within 7-8 minutes after we (4 of us) arrived. We ordered the following: -Fried Bangus(Milkfish) -Garlic Fried Rice -Fried Chicken(My Favorite #2) -Chicken Adobe -Kare, Kare -Pancit Bihon -Garlic Bok Choy -Halo Halo (My Favorite #1) Delicious Food! Great Service! The food came out fast! Wonderful Staff Had a wonderful experience....Salamat po! It is a good idea to make reservations cause it was busy at the time we went(Sunday evening at 5pm). Totally recommend Kalesa. read more

The food was meh! We ordered lechon kawali (which was good but how can you go wrong with fried lechon?), grilled squid (squid was rubbery which meant it wasn't fresh), bangus sisig (bland and needed more seasoning like salt), pork sisig (also bland and meat was dry), pancit bihon (another bland entree), bangus belly sinigang (which was ok), jackfruit with coconut milk (one of their specialty but there was nothing special about it) and halo-halo (we ordered 3) and it was all ice :( super disappointed with this place. They need to step it up!! And finally, we had a bday celebration and they played the longest Tagalog bday song ever!! Candle almost melted read more

I was recently tasked of providing food for a small family get together! The only request is that the cuisine must be Filipino based!!! I was somewhat in a quandary cause I've stopped patronizing most Filipino restaurants in the area due to failures in execution and/or unsatisfactory customer service, including Kalesa!!! But I had to provide Filipino food but was too lazy to cook!!! If I was going to give a restaurant another chance, this is the perfect time to do it!!! I chose Kalesa because they have consistently passed the Santa Clara County Inspection, which is a very important criteria for me!!! Also Kalesa has a pretty extensive party tray menu from which to choose!!! I ordered a party tray of Pork Sisig, Garlic Rice, Ginataang Lanka and Lechon Kawali several days ahead!!! On the day I picked up the trays, everything went smoothly!!! The staff was very helpful and accommodating!!! I was really impressed at how effortless it was!!! I managed to pick up all the trays on time!!! Most importantly everyone at the party was satisfied with the delicious food from Kalesa!!! I am so happy with the outcome, that I will consider Kalesa for all my catering needs!!! I will also start patronizing Kalesa again!!! They seem to have corrected many of the problems that I have complained about in the past!!! read more

This is constructive criticism, I hope you pay attention to your customers comments. I read a comment from last year and the issue is still the same for kare kare. I was dismayed by our orders today. My sister is bragging about your menus so I was excited when she said she ordered Kare Kare, kaldereta and pansit bihon for our Christmas celebration. She was right about the kare kare , flavor wise I have no criticism but the meat was tough as hell and we have to re-cook so it won't go to waste. i'm boiling it already for almost 2 hours because I don't have pressure cooker and it's still rubbery. This cow is probably "tanders " from 19th century. My comment for kaldereta is it's sour and the meat is tough. I also would recommend you have to add at least a rib portion so it will enhance more flavor. The worst of all is pansit bihon, I've never seen a soupy and overcooked bihon. This is the worst, sorry for the bad review. read more

Kalesa - Touch meat Kare Kare - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

As a Filipina and proud missionary of Filipino breakfast, I can solidly say that Kalesa made converts out of my non-Filipino friends! Service & atmosphere: the space is like kinda fancy?! Like more banquet hall style than the mom and pop Filipino spots I'm used to. Service was amazing and fast and there was already a line of folks waiting and trays waiting to be picked up- a sure sign of quality food. Food: between the three of us we had the tocilog, adobosilog, longsilog, and lumpia. Lumpia was delicious and it took a lot of self control to not eat everything before the rest of the food came. Between all three I can honestly say that each meat was cooked perfectly- sweet but savory longanisa, fatty, salty, sweet tocino, and very well flavored and fatty pork adobo. Honestly, this was the best Filipino bfast I've had in years (do NOT tell my parents)! Would love to come back for more breakfast or for dinner. Please spread the word and continue my conversion work. read more

Kalesa - Lumpia - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

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This is my Go To Filipino restaurant! The food is authentically delicious and reminds me of my parents cooking in my childhood days. I especially like their Kare Kare and Pinakbet. I always recommend this restaurant to friends who want to try Filipino food for the first time! Lucky to have this restaurant close to my house read more

Kalesa - Kare kare - huge family serving! - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

The location is easy to find and the ambiance is casual; nothing's fancy. The food is sometimes good. It's a hit and miss specially on their pancit. The portions are just right, but a bit pricey imo. Their location is a walking distance from my house so it's my goto if I crave for Filipino food. read more

3 Stars since it was the first time here,I have to come back at least 3 times to give it my full evaluation. The sisig and the pancit bihon was very good as well as their delicious flan! When I return again,I look for food quality, portion servings & consistency in taste and preparation. I would recommend this place and read other comments from fellow yelpers on their dining experience. read more

Kalesa - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

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Big portion servings, quick, clean service, and comfortable atypical of any hole in the wall Filipino dives. There is old class charm hidden in this establishment, once they convert this otherwise empty hall into formal dining catering on (adv. res.) huge occasions. read more

Coming from San Luis Obispo (going back home to Sacramento), we dropped by for early dinner. We were so excited to have Filipino food after few days on vacation. Anyway, I'll give them good stars for cleanliness and service. Food? The breakfasts were good according to my kids. The ala carte that we ordered? I guess ok. I ordered chicken inasal: looks and tastes like chicken teriyaki. The krispy pata is good (how could you mess up that one anyway)? The sinangag bagoong? It was good but why put fresh tomato? And last but not the least, kalabasa with sitaw....I wish Filipino restaurants would actually put ingredients that they name in their menu. There's a big difference between sitaw and bitsuelas. I'm sorry but they're just not the same. If they cater to "native Filipino" tongue, they should cook it properly too and not half cooked. I'm just saying.... read more

Kalesa - Chicken inasal???? - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

Food was good but the tables are so close to each other. That's why you feel its too crowded. Will come Back soon but only on weekdays. read more

It was good not great. Not sure if it was because I wasn't very hungry or if it really just wasn't that great. We had sinigang no bangus belly, fried chicken, garlic rice, pancit bihon, pork sizzling sisig, fried chicken, lechon kawali, and lumpia shanghai. Sinigang was actually pretty good, and people in the group that like sour soups liked it a lot. The best dishes were the lumpia and pancit (of course). The sisig was a little dry. It comes on a sizzling hot plate with onions and hot peppers you can mix in. It needs some kind of sauce or gravy. Garlic rice could use a little more salt. Lechon was fried really well. Very crispy. But big chunks of fat between the meat and crispy skin. I was so full I actually didn't get to try the fried chicken. I think I would come here again to give it another try. The waiters and hostess were nice. It is relatively busy so everyone must like it. read more

I've been to Kalesa a few times, but yesterday I ordered a tray each of ukoy and crispy fried chicken. Ukoy was crunchy but that's about it, crispy fried chicken sure was crispy but it was burned. I thought it would go fast but both trays still have left overs. read more

Kalesa - Burnt Crispy Fried Chicken - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

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We've always enjoyed the food at the place. Usually the beef mechado is the go-to. This time we dined in for bab's bday. We made a reservation by phone. The table was all set up when we got there. Service was really good (a pleasant surprise). Food was all delicious. We had the bangus sisig, fried chicken, kare kare and pancit miki bihon (heavy on the bihon). All was delicious. Kids got calamansi juice and a huge halo halo that they shared with their Lola. read more

Love this place, food taste so good. It's my go to if I'm craving Filipino food. Go try it out.

If you're looking for a forever, this is the place the wait is forever. No seats to wait too

I have been on the hunt for good authentic Filipino food around the area for a while now and I can finally say, I FOUND IT. The service was excellent and face paced. One of my favorite Filipino dish is the pancit bihon. TThe restaurant was closing so we decided to do pick up order instead. I was debating between the three/four different pancit entrees, but I ended up with my usual pancit bihon, lumpia, and menudo. The pancit bihon was perfectly made! The food was overall fantastic! The portions for the appetizer and both entrees had an enormous amount. You definitely get MORE than what you pay for. I will be coming back soon! read more

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Kalesa is a hidden gem! Kalesa's cooking will remind of you family cooking and it tastes like your Lola made it! Often I find Filipino restaurants add extra salt. Kalesa does an amazing job at keeping the food FLAVORFUL while not adding too much salt. The portions are huge and the prices are unbeatable. We are always treated well when we dine at Kalesa. read more

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Always our choice for party trays! Good food and friendly service. We usually order sisig, rice, and buko pandan.

I knew going in, I was going to order their Pork Sisig. I'd have to say it is their most popular dish. I wanted to order a chicken dish, but from my last visit I was disappointed in how dry their Chicken Adobo was. That said, I asked the waiter what he'd recommend, and said to go with the Chicken Inasal. Me: "Is it dry like your Chicken Adobo?" Waiter: "No, it is pretty juicy!" Let me break it down: Chicken Inasal - Sent it back because it felt like I was chewing on my leather belt with a little bit of sauce! Pork Sisig - Solid, but it took like 30 minutes to come out! It was busy, but not crazy busy! One thing that I did notice was my platter was the only one that wasn't sizzling and steaming! Isn't that part of the whole experience??? Anyways, flavor was on point, but I'm pretty sure someone forgot to bring it out when it was ready. Lumpia Shanghai - This is always consistent here, but take note that it is not rolled and made fresh. Let's just say that you can get the same exact item in the frozen section of Seafood City. No joke! Overall, it wasn't a great experience, but I tried to make the best of it. One thing they do have to work on is their service. Sometimes it is decent, but more often than not it is mediocre. Prime example: After our food was served, NO ONE came by to check on us. Not cool! I'd still come back, but only for their Sunday Buffet Brunch, or for take-out! read more

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The World According to Noelle ~Allergic Girl's Guide to Life~ What I like best about Kalesa: 1. Traditional Filipino Food. 2. Excellent Sunday Brunch. 3. Weekly Lunch Specials for $5.99 Came here this week with my mother. We ordered three dishes- pancit, pork adobo fried rice and torta tolang. For dessert we shared leche flan. I was disappointed as they ran out of Calamansi juice. Let's face it- I'm picky eater and I'm allergic to too many things food wise and yet Kalesa always has been an allergy friendly experience. I'm a fan of their Sunday brunch. Overall, everything is reasonably priced and the portions are excellent. Nothing beats quality time with my best friend- my mom =) I love you! Noelle's Notes I heart their Sunday Brunch. read more

Janet O. has kindly exposed me to Filipino cuisine and I must admit, it's pretty delicious except for a very few dishes. Nonetheless, Sisig is my favorite. This place has the BEST Sisig in the area. It's seared to a perfect charred texture. It's also not consumed by grease, which allows its marinated flavors to be intimate with your palate without a layer of grease. The meat, finely cubed, is pork butt...yummy. The Sisig is garnished with finely chopped onions and green chillies. The recipe is a family kept secret; found that out when we attempted to snatch a few ingredients. Combined with garlic rice, this dish is addicting and bottomless. Coupled with its gigantic portion, expect to be stuffed. Enough about pork. We also tried the Sizzling Squid, which was equally delicious. The squid was grilled to a crunchy exterior. The garnishing was excellent with onions, red peppers, tomatoes and other spices. Couldn't get enough of this one. In fact, every dish I have ever consumed here was excellent. We usually have the coconut juice in its shell, but we went for the house iced tea that is bottomless. I kid you not, the glass was always full, every few sips it was refilled, as if we were being spied on. Truly bottomless and tasty too. Typically, it's extremely busy here, no surprise. We had to wait a bit, but it was worth it. The staff was courteous and attentive. In fact I think everything is bottomless here, not only the ice tea! read more

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PSSSTTT.... Kalesa has Filipino Breakfast Buffet (all you can eat) every Sunday which started on August 3rd. I haven't tried it yet but it says on their little newsletter (yes, they have it) that the buffet has at least 20 selections from tapa, bangus, longanisa,champorado, pan de sal, etc. They also offer Lunch Special which is offered from Monday to Friday (11 am til 3 pm)...They call it "Recession Lunch Special". I did not try it but I had lunch here today. I had the Pork Sinigang with one serving of rice. I really like their Sinigang =). read more

I've been here several times now, and I must say that the food here is just like at home. Home to me is my mom's cookin. Her cookin can really give Kalesa a run for their money...especially when it comes to kare kare, pork or fish sinigang, pork and/or chicken adobo, diniguan, chicken tinola, and beef nilaga. Both Kalesa and my mom make these dishes just right with loads of flavor. My other favorites here are broasted chicken, bicol's pride, crispy pata, pork sisig, pinakbet, halo halo, and San Miguel. Damn....I'm getting hungry. My mom loves eating here as well, when she doesn't feel like cookin. Her eating here is a testament to how great this place is. Along with the great tasting Filipino dishes, the reasonable prices and awesome service has her coming back to this Milpitas restaurant almost twice a month. Maybe I should visit her more often. Home to me is the Philippines. Although I've never lived there, I've been there enough times to know what authentic Filipino food taste like.....and Kalesa has it down with near perfection. The service in the Philippines is second to none.....and the service at Kalesa ranks up there also. Their presentation is top notch with covered tables (not plastic), and with staff wearing barongs and sayas, which add an authentic touch to the restaurant. The crowds during the weekends are also reminiscent of the Philippines. I'd like to try out their silogs, more of their desserts, and their Sunday buffet. For the same reasons why my mom goes to this restaurant, you'd probably see me here on a monthly basis too. read more

good filipino dishes. the kare kare and sinigang bangus belly are my favorites. finishing up with halo-halo gave me a satisfying trip on this place read more

I'm probably not the best judge of Filipino food since in the past few years I've only been exposed to it. The staff here don't seem happy because they don't smile at all, but it seems to be the culture at most Asian restaurants where the servers are not chipper and happy. The place was definitely packed for a Wednesday night for dinner. Quite a lot of groups, which looked like whole families came to have dinner here and took up most the tables and chairs. We had a table for 18 people, which we called to reserve ahead of time. So good to know that they can accommodate large groups. I liked the atmosphere inside. The tables had tablecloths, and the chairs were in good condition. It had a tropical feel to it with the ceiling fans and green plants. One wall had painted art on it that added a nice touch of culture. Maybe I'm just not a big fan of FIlipino food, but I didn't really like any of the dishes ordered, but I don't think it was on account of them not making it well since the rest of the people I was with ate it all up for the most part. read more

Kalesa - Wall art - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

Dropped by today after my trip to SF. Ordered my usual Pork Sisig. Freaked out when two identical orders of that came out. Apparently they have BOGO days Mon,Weds and Thursdays. I dropped by on the right day today for my favorite pork sisig. It was Sisig BOGO day on Wednesdays! Wooohooo! Monday is Pansit BOGO DAY and I forgot what's offered on Thursdays. Btw- I was told they don't know when this BOGO special is going to end but apparently it's been going on for three months or so. Where was I? read more

This place has huge portion. I came here around 2-3pm on a Sunday and got seated right away. It was until 4pm there were people outside waiting. The portions of each order were huge- family style. We ordered garlic fried rice, beefsteak, bulalo, halo halo, pork sisig, and bangus (fish) sisig. All so good! I'd come back if I were craving Filipino food. read more

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I went to pickup the party trays and the lechon we ordered weeks ago and someone (I didn't get his name) talked to me and gave me a disclosure that not all part of the lechon skin is crispy. He said that their supplier got a frozen pig and they have no control on the outcome of the lechon. He gave me two options: 1 is to not take the lechon and give me a refund and 2 is to take it as-is. I asked him if in percentages, how many percent is the quality of the lechon and he said it's 99 percent. As a filipino tradition, we are having a big celebration and I didn't want to end up with no lechon so I took it as-is and also trusting the 99 percent quality. Biggest mistake ever! According to my guests, the lechon is old and probably been reheated by the look of the skin. Probably 90% of the skin is not crispy and the meat is so dry and bland. This was the worst lechon we've ever had in our lives! We are totally disappointed and I can't believe I paid so much money for this garbage! I do not recommend buying lechon from Kalesa or just opt for refund. read more

Kalesa - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

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I've been here a handful of times to pick up halo halo for the husband. He's tried the halo halo from Goldilocks, Red Ribbon, Jollibee, and Chow King but prefers the halo halo at Kalesa due to the freshness in taste. I finally made it here with my family for dinner recently and enjoyed the dishes we ordered. I've had some Filipino food before but I've never eaten at a sit down restaurant so this was first. I've eaten at Goldilocks and Jolibees in the past and have had pancit and lumpia that's brought into work for potlucks but this was a new experience. I made reservations ahead of time which was a good idea because this place filled up fast! Service was good. They take your order on an iPad so that was pretty efficient. For a party of 8, we share the following: - Ukoy (sweet potato and shrimp fritter) - Lechon Kawali (wok fried pork) - Beef Mechado (Beef stew) - Kare Kare (ox tail curry) - Pancit Miki Bihon (mix of rice noodle and thick noodle) - Chicken Inasal (bbq chicken) - Grilled Bangus (Grilled milk fish) - Sizzling Sisig (pork on sizzling platter) - Garlic rice - plus one halo halo for dessert to go! We still had a lot of food to take home but this was a good variety of food to sample. I especially enjoyed the sizzling sisig, chicken inasal, kare kare, and beef mechado. The only dish I didn't really care much for was the grilled bangus. I would definitely come back again the next time I'm craving Filipino food... Or picking up another halo halo for the husband! read more

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This is one of the best Filipino restaurants I've ever been to but the service is always lacking... They also don't coordinate such that your food comes out in roughly the same time for your whole party. There was a good 15 minute gap between me and my other guest. Made it really awkward for me to eat. They have really worthwhile lunch specials for only $6.99. I had the lunch sizzle pork adobo and it was absolutely delicious. However, how they charged me was messed up.... So the lunch specials only come with regular rice, and I asked if I could get garlic rice. Instead of charging me a substitution fee, they just charged me for a separate order but they did NOT give me another scoop of the original regular rice. What a rip off! The food was SUPER salty too, I could have used that extra bowl of rice, especially if I paid for it....-_- Even worse, they mixed up our credit cards and receipts...wtf... I shouldn't have tipped.... read more

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This place is where my family loves to eat for occasions, maybe after church, or ordering take out when my parents are too lazy to cook Filipino food. Lol. My family and I make sure to come here on a week day. The wait time is pretty short. Sometimes though they have parties, but just order take out so you don't have to pay for rice lol. We usually get the kare kare, sisig, lechon, pancit, mechado, or calamari. The nice server always tells us the kabataan dishes. The servers here are friendly. When it gets busy though you really have to get their attention. But other than that I like the family vibe here. Their sisig is my favorite here. I like how it's actual meat w/ a bit of fat on the sides of it. The kare kare is really tasty especially mixing it's peanutty flavor with the bagoong (shrimp paste). Lechon and calamari both come w/ dipping sauce and are crispy. Pancit for long life was alright because I still like my grandma's the best. Mechado though my mom's favorite here was delicious. The meat was soft and tender. The potatos and carrots were well cooked. Lastly, try out the chicharon bulak lak! It's intestine as my mom says, but it's crispy and great w/ the suka (vinegar) they provide. Great appetizer! Our experiences here so far have been tasty and enjoyable. We will definitely come back and for take out when we are lazy. read more

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Another place that made me say wow, mmm and fantastic. First time here in the states I am satisfied to the max! I mean to it's max. Firstly, the waitress greeted upon entering the restaurant and with a "smile". Secondly, when we start our order, the waitress was telling me our order might be to many for me and my friend. What only three dishes too many? Then ordered two halo halo, then the waitress said you need only one. . This is something I need to see. The answer is simply come over and see by yourself. Highly recommended. I don't about the negative remarks but my experience is simply that. read more

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I came here for lunch on a weekday and it wasnt very crowded. I never noticed this place before as it looks like a tiny place from the outside. Compared to Bario Fiesta, I think I like the food better here. Pancit Malabon: a lot of food but I didn't care too much for it. It comes with shrimp and other seafood and egg. A little too "saucy" for my taste. 3.5/5 I like other pancits more. Lechon Kawali: I liked it a lot, so fatty and crunchy goodness. The sauce was very good. 5/5 BBQ pork stick (3 sticks): This was very good. soft and fatty! 5/5 Calamansi Juice: I always get this and it was fine 5/5 Coworker and I ate and I was able to bring home like half of everything for leftovers all for $40+. Parking is fine. Service is good. I would come here again. read more

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Great food and service definitely will be back again you never leave hungry. Definitely are new go to Filipino restaurant read more

Kalesa - Some of the dishes - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

Grilled milk fish, too much charcoals so tasted very bitter and dried. Kare-kare, Nice portion of ox tails but flavor of broth is way too sweet and tastes like peanut butter sauce. Crispy pasta, Nice portion but meat is very dried, pork skin is too chewy. Flavor is bland. Many friends recommended this eatery to me but unfortunately the food was not very tasty. Service is nice. read more

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